1. Field of the Invention
The field of this invention relates to furniture and more specifically to a chair which can be moved to a collapsed position which is used during shipping from the manufacturer to the retailer and consumer.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical chair has a seat and a back extending transversely from the seat. This configuration of a chair is not readily adaptable to shipping after being manufactured for the reason that the chair inherently occupies a substantial amount of space. It is common for chairs to be manufactured in overseas manufacturing facilities which means that the chairs are required to be put into boxes and then shipped by shipping containers to the continental United States. The size of the shipping carton for a chair which contains a back attached to a seat in the normal manner is of significant size and therefore greatly limits the number of shipping cartons that can be placed within a shipping container. The result is the cost of shipping chairs that are assembled is substantially greater than when chairs are not assembled.
In the past, to minimize shipping expense of chairs, it has been common to detach the back from the seat. The back can then be placed against the seat with the result that a significantly more compact unit is achieved for purposes of shipping. Once the disassembled chair reaches the retailer, either the retailer or the consumer is required to then assemble the chair. Assembly usually requires several bolt type fasteners to be installed in place and tightened. Many consumers find not only that this assembly of the chair to be annoyance, but it also can be rather time consuming and difficult for certain individuals that have a minimal amount of mechanical skill.
One of the objectives of the present invention is to construct a chair that is collapsible for purposes of shipping, but upon reaching the selling or consuming destination, the chair can be moved from its collapsed position to its normal usage position without requiring the installation of any fasteners nor use of any tools. Movement of the chair to the usage position is accomplished merely by the act of moving the back of the chair into a transverse position relative to the seat of the chair.
The main embodiment of collapsible chair of the present invention utilizes a seat, which is to be normally located in a substantially horizontal position, which is designed to have the buttocks of the human user to be placed thereon. The seat has an aft edge, and to this aft edge is mounted a lower plate of a hinge bracket. The hinge bracket includes an upper plate with this upper plate being separated from the lower plate by a hinge joint. The upper plate is fixedly secured to a back. This hinge joint permits the back to be moved from a collapsed position located in juxtaposition with the seat to a transverse position which is, in essence, vertical. This transverse position is the usage position.
In another embodiment of this invention, the hinge bracket is shown to be substantially L-shaped.
In another embodiment of this invention, the upper plate of the hinge bracket is defined as being shorter in length than the lower plate.
In another embodiment of this invention, there is formed a seat cavity within the seat and a back cavity within the back. The hinge bracket is to be mounted in both of these cavities.
In another embodiment of this invention, there is provided a cushion which is to be removably mountable within both the seat cavity and the back cavity to cover the hinge bracket and prevent contact of the hinge bracket with the user when the user is occupying the chair.
In another embodiment of this invention, there is provided a means for locking in conjunction with the hinge bracket which is to lock the back of the chair in a fixed position relative to the seat with this position being the usage position.